Emily had thought she’d made the biggest mistake of her life kicking Nery out, but she learned to be content with what she had. Amil was a happy baby, and never cried or wanted for anything. It was as if all the love and care Emily had been denied in her own life she somehow found and poured into her child. Amil was never left with a babysitter, Emily was able to save up enough vacation days to take a leave of absence through his infant and toddler years.

Amil was an outgoing and playful toddler, constantly on the go. He was sensitive to his mother’s moods though, and knew to play quietly in his room when she was having a particularly hard day.

No matter how much Emily wished it were different, being a single mother wasn’t easy. She often fell in bed exhausted, well after midnight. She would wake before the sun and be busy cleaning when Amil woke in the morning.

As the years passed, old wounds healed. Emily realized that she and Nery had never been right for each other, and she hoped that their relationship could become a friendship . She invited Nery to Amil’s toddler to child transition party. Knowing that she hadn’t had a relationship with her own parents made her desire a relationship for Amil with is father. Nery had been absent in Amil’s life up to this point, and she was nervous about how Amil was going to feel about his father, and how Nery was going to feel about his son.

The party started well enough. Nery cheered on as Amil blew out his candles.  

The transition went off without a hitch, a little spin, a little confetti, and Amil turned from an adorable toddler into a cute child. He was so excited to meet his father, he could hardly contain himself. Amil turned to hug his father, but Nery was speaking with Emily, and heading into the bedroom. Amil knew that his parents must have bought him a present, and went charging into the room.

Amil stopped dead in his tracks. His father was sitting on the bed, his clothes on the floor beside him. His mother was yelling at Nery, her face turning red in her anger. Amil wasn’t sure what was going on, but it scared him. This wasn’t the birthday present he expected. He turned and ran from the room, tears welling up in his eyes. His mother was yelling so loudly he could hear her out in the hall.

“Nery! What on earth are you doing! What can you be thinking? We aren’t even together anymore!” Emily turned to look for her son, “Amil, oh my gosh, Amil,”

 Emily shot Nery a scathing look, “Get out, now. Don’t come back, either. I don’t know how I’m going to fix this.” She hurried out of the room after her son.

 Amil stood in the hallway, tears streaming down his face. His shoulders shook with each sob that racked his small body. Emily put her arms around him and cooed.

 “It’s okay honey, Nery will leave now, and he’ll never come back. You’ll never have to see him again.” She scowled as Nery walked out of the bedroom, whistling.

 “The boy needs to learn what it means to be a man anyway, babe.”

“I am seriously going to kill you Nery. You are not a man, you are an animal. Lower than an animal, you are scum. You’d best go, and never show your face around here again.”

 “Hey, that’s my kid, you can’t keep me from seeing him.” Nery smiled smugly.

 “You can’t see him if your dead, can you. Unless you want that to happen I suggest you never try to contact my son again. I won’t ask you for any help raising him, but don’t try to see him.” Her hands balled into fists at her side. She wanted nothing more than to pummel the man.

 Nery turned to the door, “This isn’t over Emily. I have rights.”

“Are you remembering that I am on the Vice Squad, Nery? I am very aware that you’ve had a change of occupation. I’m also aware that you are running with the local crime ring. I can make bad things happen for you Nery. They would be interested to know that you’ve been speaking with the police.”

 “I haven’t been talking to the police, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nery’s eyebrows drew together as he scowled at Emily and Amil.

  “All it takes is a leak from my office and they’ll think you have been talking to us, I wonder how long they would let you live after they received such information.”

 “You’re an evil bitch, Emily. I should have known better than to get messed up with some slut from the Lost Children program.”

“I’m not talking to you anymore, you know where the door is. My son and I have a birthday to celebrate.”

Emily did her best to cheer her son up and take his mind off what he had just witnessed. She knew Nery hadn’t meant for Amil to come in the room, but that didn’t change the fact that Nery had been very inappropriate for his son’s birthday party. With a final hug she wished her son happy birthday and kissed him goodnight. She only hoped that Amil would forget all about his father.

Amil was anxious about starting his first day of school, but his mom told him it would be fun and that he would meet new friends. He was scared that maybe his father would find him, but his mom assured him that Nery wouldn’t even know where he was.

Emily tried to keep herself busy while Amil was gone. She cleaned the bathroom, twice. She mopped the kitchen floor, made the beds, checked the mail. Finally she went on the internet to check the latest job postings, just to keep busy until Amil got home. There was an opening in the Athletic career, Business, Adventure, Oceanography…wait, Adventure? Emily stared at the job posting. She had always dreamed of being a space pirate. She sat back in her chair, thoughts racing through her head. Did she dare take the job? Would switching careers at this point in her life be foolish? Emily paced through her house, thinking about what to do. Her job on the police force helped to protect Amil from Nery, but she was sure that her friends on the force would be willing to watch out for him even if she was no longer wearing a blue uniform. Before she could change her mind, she quickly clicked the Accept Job button on the web page.

“Mom, I’m home!” Amil skipped into the kitchen. “School was great, and I brought home a friend. Can she stay to play, huh?”

 Emily smiled at her son, happy that his day had gone so well. “Of course sweetie, she can stay. I’m so glad you had a good day. Guess what? I had an interesting day, too! I accepted a new job. Mommy’s gonna be a Space Pirate someday!”

 Amil’s brow furrowed as he thought over his mothers words. “But what about Nery? I thought we were safe from him because you were a policeman.”

 “Oh honey, I don’t want you to think about him. And I certainly don’t want you to be scared, not ever. I’ll take care of us, don’t worry. Now go and play with your new friend.”

Emily was quite upset when she had to hire a nanny to be home in the afternoons and on weekends with Amil. She warned the nanny that Amil’s father was out there somewhere, and to never let Amil out of her sight. She hated leaving him to go to work, but she had no other choice. Her new job didn’t give her any vacation days. She couldn’t risk the chance that social services would take Amil away and give him to his father.

Amil leaned close to Emily and whispered, “She smells funny mom.”

 Putting her hand over his mouth Emily smiled at Calista as she turned Amil around, away from the nanny. “Shhh. Old people have sore joints, they use lotions and ointments to make them feel better, that’s why they smell.” She tried to hide her smile.

 “I think its because she has a dead husband at home, and she keeps him in the basement. She goes down and visits him at dinner time and kisses him goodnight. That’s why she smells.” He nodded matter of factly.

 Emily couldn’t hide her grin anymore. “You read too many books, my darling boy. Quite the imagination. Now, be good. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

Nery hadn’t forgotten about Emily and Amil. Anger festered inside Nery like an infected cut. He had never done anything wrong to her or the kid, and yet she continued to blame him for everything. He’d never had an affair, and he certainly hadn’t meant for the kid to walk in on him at the party. He had just wanted to try and patch things up with Emily. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He picked up the phone and made a call.

“Listen, I need your help…don’t worry my phone isn’t tapped…yeah, I know…it’s about my kid and his slut mother…I just wanna scare her…Gordon’ll do it? Great. Okay, I’ll get the money to ya. Thanks.”

Sirens shattered the quiet of the night, the sound of police cars as they squealed around corners awoke Emily and Amil in the night. Emily immediately ran to her son, holding him close.

 “Mom! There’s someone in the house!” Amil whispered in fright.

 “It’s okay baby, the police are out there, they’ll take care of him.” The sound of fighting came from the living room.

Emily peaked through the crack in the door, she could see her old partner cuffing the robber. This wasn’t a coincidence. Nery had set this up. Her body shook with rage, she couldn’t let him put her son’s life in jeopardy. She still had friends on the force, she still held some sway. Nery’s behavior was obviously getting worse, if he could send one of those criminals into his sons home, there was no telling what he wouldn’t do. She went to talk to her old partner. It was time the crime ring found out that Nery was “talking”.

Amil watched as her mom stepped outside and shared a few words with the policeman. The man looked grave and nodded at Emily. They shook hands, and then the police car left.

Sleep didn’t come again that night, Amil was too frightened his father was out there somewhere, just waiting to steal him away.

Months went by with little excitement. Amil went to school, Emily to work. The nanny burned dinner, and Emily cleaned it up. Emily was anxious for Amil to become a teen so that she could stop paying the nanny. The new job didn’t pay nearly as well as her old one, and money was tight.

It was towards the end of summer, Emily grabbed the newspaper to read before going to work one morning. Her breath caught in her chest as she read the headline in the newspaper. Local Man Found Dead in Swimming Pool. Her eyes blurred as she continued to read the story. It was Nery. The crime family had caught up with him, it didn’t say so much in the paper, but she knew that’s what happened. Why was she so upset? This is what she wanted. This is what it took to keep Amil safe. But Nery, oh Nery, she thought. What circumstances pushed us to this? She knew she could never talk about this again. She would tell Amil that his father drowned, and then they would never speak his name again.

The next morning, Emily invited Amil to join her in a game of chess.

 “Ah, mom, I hate playing chess.”

 “It won’t kill you, now come on munchkin.” Emily ruffled Amil’s hair as he sat down across from her at the chess table.

 “Fine, but I get to win.”

Chuckling, Emily lined the pieces up on the board. “I’ll let you win, but we need to have a talk.”

Amil wrinkled his nose, “It’s about Nery, isn’t it?”

 “I forget how sensitive you are, Amil. Yes, it’s about Nery.” Emily moved a chess piece, trying to decide what she should say.

“He’s dead, right?”

 “What? How do you know? I just read about it in the paper yesterday.”

 “I go to school mom, people talk. Everyone says he got what he deserved. They say he was working for the crime ring, is that true mom?”

 Taking a deep breath, Emily thought to herself. This was too much for a boy to handle, and yet he was handling it so well. And the town was talking, she hadn’t known that.

 “Yes, he had taken up an unsavory line of work. I think…I think I’m somewhat responsible for what he became after he moved out. I accused him of some awful things, and then after your last birthday, well, I threatened him if he ever bothered us again. And then the robbery happened, I had to protect you Amil.”

“Mom, what are you saying? You didn’t have anything to do with him dying did you?”

 Emily stood up from the chess table, pacing the floor. Amil was too young for this burden. It was a burden she had to bear alone. Her actions led to Nery’s death, and yet she didn’t regret it. She would do anything to keep Amil safe.

 She avoided looking at Amil, she couldn’t look in his face and lie. “Of course not, honey. I just…well…I just wanted you to know we’re safe now.”

A horn sounded from outside. “Oh, there’s your bus, hurry along. And don’t think about this anymore.”

 Amil jumped up from the table, and raced towards the door. He stopped turned around and came back and gave his mom a hug. “I love you mom, and someday, I’ll keep you safe, k?”

Emily wiped a tear from her eye as she watched her son hop on the bus. His birthday was tomorrow, and he was already handling things like a man. She wanted to do something, to remind him he was still a boy. A puppy! That would be perfect, she’d call the pet adoption agency and have them drop one by. Boys love puppies.

Emily hurried home from work the next afternoon, anxious to give Amil his birthday present. She found him chatting with Marsha, one of the neighborhood girls. “Hey kids! I hear someone’s turning into a teenager around here, is it you Marsha?”

 The kids giggled at her silly joke, Amil jumping up to give his mom a hug. “Do I get a present mom?”

 “A present? Oh, shoot, I knew I forgot something.” Emily grinned while pulling a box from behind the couch. She hoped the nanny hadn’t wrapped the dog up too early.

Amil ripped the paper off the box, quickly opening it when he heard a whining sound coming from inside. “A puppy!” He squealed in delight.

After a few minutes of letting Amil play with the puppy, she called him into the kitchen. It was time. She was sad to see her little boy change. She wished she could stop time, and keep him the way he was, but time stopped for no man, or woman.

A quick breath of air, a spin of the body, a few sparkles, and it was over. Amil stood before her, a teenage boy.

 “Whatcha think, mom? Not too bad?” he looked over at his mom.

Emily smiled through her tears. “No, not too bad, but don’t think you can start acting out now that you’re a teenager.”

 “Ah, mom. I wouldn’t act out. Now, I have an urge to find some hot chicks.” Amil grinned at his mother.

 “You devil! You leave the women alone, they’re nothing but trouble.”

 “Yes, I know, that’s what makes ‘em so great.” He walked over and gave his mother a smooch on the cheek.

Amil often brought home girls with him from school, and turning into a teenager didn’t change anything. He was itching for his first kiss, and when Beverly Tsang got off the school bus with him, he hoped that she would provide the perfect opportunity.

 They played a little chess, he knew girls liked smart guys, and when it came to chess, no one was smarter. Then he talked to her about places they’d like to go when they grew up.

“I would love to go to the islands. Sit around in a bikini…maybe have you rub some lotion on my back.” Beverly giggled.

 “Anywhere with you sounds like paradise.” Amil wondered how long he should wait before he tried to kiss her.

“You wanna dance Beverly?”

 She giggled, looking at him through her eyelashes. “There isn’t any music, silly.”

 “The sound of our hearts is the only beat we need,” he whispered as he pulled her into his arms.

 Before long she was relaxed and leaning into him as they danced around the hall floor. He knew it was time, he leaned towards her, timidly looking her into the eyes.

As their lips touched he felt as though he were being lifted into the sky.

“Wow, that was kinda fun, huh?” Beverly giggled when they pulled apart.

 “Just ‘kinda fun’?” Amil grinned as he tickled her. He pulled her back into his arms and kissed her until she was breathless.

“I’d better go home. It’s getting late.”

 “Yeah, you’d better. I’ll call ya later, okay?” Amil walked her to the door, then crawled in his bed to have sweet dreams about Beverly.

“Somebody call the fire department, I think the house is gonna burn down,” Amil joked at his mom as he looked at her birthday cake covered in candles.

“You just hush it mister, I might be getting old, but I can still kick your butt.”

“Yeah, old is right,” Amil stepped out of his mothers reach as she playfully swing a fist at him.

Emily took a deep breath, now or never, she thought to herself.

“Funny, I don’t feel old.” Emily laughed as she spun around. After the confetti settled she checked out her older self. “Eh, I’ve looked better.”

“You still look beautiful, mom.” Amil hugged her. “Be careful so you don’t start smelling like the nanny though.”

“Scoundrel.”

Amil and Beverly were in love. No doubt about it. He was convinced he would never meet anyone as wonderful as her. She’s so beautiful, and funny, and she kisses great, and she’s smart. His list of her perfections was quite long. Emily thought he was being ridiculous. She hoped it was just an infatuation and that he would move on. Emily of all people knew how dangerous it could be to get involved with the first someone who came along.

She kept quiet though, not wanting to confront Amil. He was such a good kid, he had graduated from high school with honors, and was working hard at the local 5-star restaurant. She had hoped he would go to college, but although he had applied for, and received, a number of scholarships he hadn’t shown any interest. He was already working in the career he wanted, and he didn’t seem to think that a college education would help. She wasn’t concerned about his education, she was worried about him getting out of the house and trying new things and meeting new people.

Little did she know, he was trying new things, just not with new people. While she was at work Amil and Beverly were behaving badly.

“I wasn’t going to say anything about this, but I really think you should go to college.”

“I’ve thought about this too, mom, and I’m really happy working at Londoste. The chef is retiring soon, and he says as soon as I’m an adult I can take over the restaurant. This is what I want to do, mom. Let’s not fight about it.”

“I’m afraid your missing out on things, Amil. I want you to make better choices than I made. I want you to have opportunities I didn’t have.”

“You gave me those opportunities mom, I’m choosing for myself what I want. And the opportunity at the restaurant probably will never come again.”

“What about Beverly?”

“Beverly has nothing to do with my decision. But she is important to me, mom.”

“She’s the first girl you’ve ever loved, but please don’t let her be your last. Don’t repeat my mistakes, date around, have some fun.”

“Is this the ‘other fish in the sea’ talk mom?”

Emily laughed, “Yeah, I guess it is.”

“Okay, I promise that I’ll keep an open mind about girls.”

“And I promise not to cry at your birthday party.”

“Liar.” Amil grinned at his mother.

Amil was sure to invite all his friends to his birthday party. He was anxious for Beverly to show up because he wanted to talk to her about something important. He knew he had the choice to to age someone up with him, and he wanted it to be her.

He waited to blow out the candles as long as he could, but Beverly never showed. He tried to hide how hurt he was by being overly friendly with everyone else.

“Amil, its time, honey. You have to blow out the candles, you can’t put it off any longer.”

“I know mom, I’m gonna do it.” Amil closed his eyes, and thought about his wish. Should he wish for love? Money? Neither one seemed right. Then he knew what it would be. He pursed his lips together and blew.

Authors Note: This is not at all the direction I had planned on taking in this story. I had planned on Nery and Emily getting back together and having more children, but ACR took things out of my hands. The scenes involving Nery in the bed at Amil’s party were none of my doing. They all happened naturally, well ACR naturally anyway. I had never seen a parent comfort a child, and it was so heartbreakingly sweet that I had to write it into the story.

Also, please note, I do not condone teenagers being intimate. If you are young, please be wise about the decisions you make.

I do have ACR and InTeen installed, and I may take out InTeen. I am not sure if I like teens stopping school and going to work in the real world. We’ll see what happens.

Anyway, thanks for hanging in there, this seemed like a really long chapter, but I desperately wanted Amil to be an adult. Although, ugh, he turned from a total cute teen into a monster adult…ew.